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I Tried Hypnotherapy To Beat My Sugar Cravings, Here's What Happened

Sugar addict Lucy turns to hypnotisation to nip her sweet tooth in the bud.

By
WH Author

01/08/2016

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My name is Lucy and I’m a sugar addict. I’m sure many of you are too.

I turn to the white stuff when I need a boost of energy or a moment of comfort, and I use it as a reward for, well, anything – well done me for getting through another day at work, have a Magnum!

And don’t get me started on marshmallows – a bag of those squidgy pink and white delights doesn’t last a minute.

So, to help me reframe my relationship with sugar I tried hypnotherapy with Aaron Surtees at City Hypnosis in London.

To be honest, I was mostly worried that hypnosis would make me hate sugar. Imagine never being able to indulge again?!

But Aaron gave me the kind of treatment that would simply give me more control – not a total aversion. The idea is that, after a couple of sessions, I’d have the choice to take or leave that sugar hit.

How does hypnosis work?

As soon as you meet Aaron in his tranquil treatment room – all leather chairs and green palms – you feel calm and safe. He has one of those deep, soft-edged voices that creates instant Zen.

After a quick chat, I lay back in the reclining armchair, wearing headphones so I could clearly hear Aaron’s voice clearly, and closed my eyes.

Hypnosis works by putting your body in a completely relaxed state and then putting ‘suggestions’ into your subconscious, like, ‘You realise that your life has been revolving around sugar far too much… You’ve had enough of being slave to the sugar freak controller… You say no and you mean no.’

Then, back in your normal life, your mind works on these ideas and this helps to change your behaviour and feelings around sugar – or whatever you’re having hypnotherapy for.

At City Hypnosis, Aaron also treats depression, anxiety, phobias and can help with weight loss, stopping smoking and many other issues.

Aaron’s technique isn’t a ‘when I click my fingers, you’ll be asleep’ kind of stage hypnosis. He spent a good few minutes telling me to breathe, feel energy flowing into my muscles and relaxing them in turn.

He then led me into a ‘trance’ by asking me to imagine myself at the top of a large staircase, and then telling me to take one step down, and then another, and another, feeling heavier and heavier, until I was at the bottom – completely relaxed.

What does hypnosis really feel like?

When my body and mind was ‘under’, that’s when he started the suggestions:

‘Sugar reminds you of unpleasant things from your past… You begin to enjoy life so much more because you know you are in control…. You’re feeling really good right now because you know sweets are a thing of the past.’

Being hypnotised is, frankly, a bit weird. But it’s not at all unpleasant.

It’s easy because you don’t have to do any work (unlike meditation). Aaron does it all for you; you just have to follow his lead. But you can expect some strange experiences along the way.

As I was going under, I felt tingling across my hands and arms. I also felt a warmth spread through my body. And, at times, my vision (with my eyes closed, remember) flashed from dark to light and back again.

And this was the weirdest bit. When Aaron brought me round, after about 40 minutes, by counting down from 5 to 1, I got cramp in my toe as soon as he hit 3.

It pulled me out of my trance, and I felt like I was rushing to the surface after being underwater in a whoosh of air.

‘In 15 years, I’ve never seen that happen before,’ Aaron said. He didn’t seem alarmed. And I was secretly pleased that I’d had a ‘new’ reaction.

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